The present invention relates generally to furniture covers, and relates more particularly to improved in covers for covering casual or outdoor furniture.
The present invention is particularly concerned with improvements in covers and covering methods for porch and patio furniture, such as umbrella tables, chairs and chaise lounges. Such outdoor furniture is produced by a large number of manufactures in a wide variety of designs.
Ready-made covers for such furniture generally lack the adaptability required to enable satisfactory performance with a wide range of furniture designs. Consequently, covers have been developed that adapt to enable satisfactory performance with such range of furniture designs, such as the covers described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,115 entitled "Outdoor Furniture Covers and Covering Methods", which is expressly incorporated by reference herein. The disadvantages of previous ready-made covers are described in and overcome by covers and methods set forth in the above referenced patent, which also discusses the advantages provided by the novel covers and methods of the '115 patent.
When installed, the covers of the '115 patent extend from an elevated portion of the article or articles of furniture to be covered, such as from an umbrella pole of an umbrella table assembly or a raised, back portion of a chair, down towards a lower portion of the furniture, such as the periphery of an umbrella table or a seat or foot of a chair. The covers are designed so that, when peripheral portions of the cover are installed at specified mounting points on the article to be covered, the cover is tensioned over the article being covered. Since the fabric is light weight, a cover which has been fitted to and mounted in tension on the article extends generally in a straight line down from the elevated portion to the lower portion, and may not be inclined sufficiently to shed all water and other debris which comes to rest on the cover.
Where the cover is positioned over an article, the '115 patent also suggests a method for forming drainage troughs by pinching the covers between two chairs. However, the cover may be displayed relative to the article being covered if the cover is loaded, for example by wind, wet leaves, snow or other debris, and consequently the troughs are lost.
The present invention is concerned with the above-mentioned general problems. Accordingly, it is the general object of the present invention to provide an improved durable lightweight furniture cover which automatically forms drainage troughs when mounted on an article to be covered, and which avoids the problems discussed above.